suzanne kuhn at haunch

There are still a few days left for you to catch to catch Suzanne Kuhn at the Haunch of Venison.  Her first exhibition with the gallery, this is a mightily impressive display of large-scale painting. Her obscure or open-ended narratives feature unexpected juxtapositions of, for example, traditional landscapes and domestic interiors. Sometimes figures inhabit these fantastic scenes, seemingly indifferent to the chaotic surroundings with their twisted perspectives they could almost be actors in the act of filming ‘green-screen’.

Artistic and cultural references abound. Similarities with Japanese art are clear, you will see Ansel Adams, the language of fantasy, hollywood film and an interest in the concept of the sublime and German romantic painting. Kuhn has commented that she ‘has become aware of the many thresholds which exist in nature. Usually these thresholds are borderlines between wild nature and urbanism. I like these areas because they offer friction and space for new thoughts and developments’.

Amazingly many of the larger works remain unsold, despite most of the smaller ones selling well. It may be symbolic of the loss of direction at HoV or could it be that these large-scale works are themselves out of kilter with the belt-tightening in the world at large – after all I imagine that there probably aren’t that many banking corporations still buying up works to decorate their lofty foyers!

For investors a work around 8 foot square – including the excellent Garden of Eden itself – seems to be very reasonably priced (just over £20k ). No doubt there is some discount negotiable and for anyone wanting a truly impressive work to wow their clients (or neighbours!) they could do a lot, lot worse. It could be a good time to buy!

The gallery is also showing the Korean artist Meekyoung Shin’s colourful installations of reinterpreted Oriental porcelain. Also well worth a look.